1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric vacuum cleaner, specifically to an electric vacuum cleaner which can wipe up a floor surface or the like while vacuuming up filth thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional electric vacuum cleaners of this type are disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Registered Publication No. 3041713, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-294468 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-60773.
The electric vacuum cleaner disclosed in Japanese Patent Registered Publication No. 3041713 (hereinafter, “conventional cleaner 1”) comprises a floor nozzle assembly having raised cloths on the lower surface thereof. This conventional cleaner 1 can wipe up a floor surface while vacuuming up filth on the floor surface when the floor nozzle assembly is moved on the floor surface with the raised cloths contacting it.
The electric vacuum cleaner disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-294468 (hereinafter, “conventional cleaner 2”) comprises a nozzle assembly having a lower surface in which a plurality of the suction openings are formed, and a wiping member attached adjacent to the plurality of suction openings. The wiping member comprises a piece of, for example, non-woven cloth, cloth or paper. This conventional cleaner 2 can wipe up a floor while vacuuming up filth when the nozzle assembly is moved while activating a cleaner body with the wiping member contacting the floor.
The electric vacuum cleaner disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-60773 (hereinafter, “conventional cleaner 3”) is one that a wiping section is formed on one surface of a nozzle and a vacuuming section is formed on the other surface of the nozzle. The nozzle has an inversely rotatable structure. This conventional cleaner 3 can wipe a floor when the nozzle is rotated so that the wiping section may face a floor surface and contact it, and moved onto the floor. On the contrary, the conventional cleaner 3 can vacuum filth when the nozzle is rotated so that the vacuuming section may face the floor surface and contact it, and moved onto the floor surface.
However, according to the conventional cleaner 1, when the raised cloths become dirty by catching filth due to the wiping, it is necessary to wash the raised cloths. Thus the conventional cleaner 1 often needs maintenance to clean the raised cloths. Also, according to the conventional cleaners 1 and 2, however, the area of the raised cloth or the wiping member is relatively small because it must be shaped in order to avoid an interference with the suction opening. Efficiencies of catching filth by wiping are thus relatively low. In the conventional vacuum 3, the wiping section can be formed on one surface of the nozzle entirely thus the area of the wiping section is relatively large and an efficiency of catching filth by wiping is relatively high. However, in this structure, the wiping section is exposed to the exterior when the nozzle is inversely rotated. Therefore, it is not good in appearance when the wiping section is dirty with adhered filth. Besides, even though the nozzle employs a complex structure such that plural suction paths are formed therein, the conventional cleaner 3 can not vacuum filth when wiping the floor, or wipe the floor when vacuuming filth. Therefore, the conventional cleaner 3 can not perform multiple cleaning.